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TotalEnergies and OQ break ground on Marsa LNG project

2 May 2025

France’s TotalEnergies and OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP), a subsidiary of Omani state energy conglomerate OQ Group, have broken ground on the Marsa liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering and export terminal project in Oman.

The estimated $1.6bn LNG project is being built in the sultanate’s northern port city of Sohar and will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes a year (t/y).

TotalEnergies is the majority stakeholder in the Marsa LNG project, holding an 80% interest, with OQ Group, through OQEP, holding the remaining 20% stake.

LNG production from the facility is expected to start in the first quarter of 2028, TotalEnergies and OQ said in a joint statement.

The Marsa LNG project will primarily supply marine fuel to vessels such as container ships, tankers and large cruise ships, and is said to be the first marine LNG bunkering hub in the Middle East.

Last April, TotalEnergies awarded Technip Energies the main contract to execute engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the Marsa LNG project.

US-based Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) won a contract to build the main concrete LNG storage tank, which will have a capacity of 165,000 cubic metres, and to complete the associated piping upgrade. The firm described its contract as being “significant”, a term it uses to denote a value range of $100m-$250m.

In addition to awarding the EPC contracts for the project, TotalEnergies and OQ also achieved the final investment decision on the Marsa LNG project last April. Marsa LNG was formed in December 2021 through a joint-venture agreement between the two companies.

Marsa LNG infrastructure contracts

Along with the groundbreaking ceremony on 1 May, Oman’s Sohar Port & Freezone, where the Marsa LNG terminal is being built, also awarded three contracts covering infrastructure and other services related to the project.

WSP International’s Oman branch was awarded a consultancy services contract, to provide project management, back-office support, design review, site supervision and contract management services, with the contract running from November 2024 to November 2028.

The second contract was signed with the Netherlands-headquartered Boskalis International’s Oman branch for dredging works, involving the removal of approximately 3.8 million cubic metres of material to develop the access channel, berth pocket and turning circle, with completion expected in September.

Sohar Port & Freezone announced the start of dredging works on the Marsa LNG project in March, when Boskalis was contracted for the job.

The third contract was awarded to Six Construct’s Oman branch, covering the construction of the LNG jetty, shore protection and drainage systems, with a duration of 16 months.

MEED also recently reported that Technip Energies, as the main EPC contractor on the Marsa LNG project, had awarded a couple of sub-contracts to local firms.

Sarooj Construction Company won a sub-contract for temporary construction facilities at the Marsa LNG terminal project site. Industrial Technology Services (Intecs) was sub-contracted by Technip Energies to perform civil works and construct utility buildings.

LNG production

The Marsa LNG facility will consist of a single processing train that will draw up to 150,000 cubic feet a day of natural gas feedstock from the Mabrouk Northeast field, located in Oman’s onshore Block 10 concession.

TotalEnergies is part of a consortium that operates the Block 10 hydrocarbons concessions in the sultanate. Oman’s Energy & Minerals Ministry signed a concession agreement in December 2021 with a consortium led by Shell Integrated Gas Oman, the Omani subsidiary of UK-based energy major Shell, to develop and produce natural gas from Block 10.

As part of the concession agreement, Shell operates Block 10, holding a 53.45% working interest, with OQ and Marsa LNG holding 13.36% and 33.19% stakes, respectively.

TotalEnergies is also a 22.5% stakeholder in the Block 11 onshore concession, from which the Marsa LNG project could draw gas feedstock in the future. Shell Development Oman is the majority (67.5%) stakeholder in Block 11, for which the Omani government signed an exploration and production sharing agreement in September 2022.

Solar-powered LNG terminal

The Marsa LNG complex will be completely electrically driven and supplied with solar power. The project will be “one of the lowest GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions intensity LNG plants ever built worldwide”, with a GHG intensity below 3 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil equivalent, the partners said in a statement.

TotalEnergies said it is in an “advanced stage of discussions” with OQ’s renewable energy branch, OQ Alternative Energy, to jointly develop a portfolio of up to 800MW, including a 300MW solar project that will supply power to the Marsa LNG facility. The two companies will form a joint venture in which OQ Alternative Energy will own 51% stake, with TotalEnergies holding the other 49%.

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Indrajit Sen

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